Business Moves

Selective Insurance, Montpelier Re

Selective Insurance Group is acquiring Montpelier U.S. Insurance Company (acronym MUSIC), an excess-and-surplus lines unit from Montpelier Re U.S. Holdings Ltd., for $55 million. Selective said the deal should be completed before the end of the year.

In 2010, MUSIC generated $48 million in gross written premiums from its commercial lines contract binding authority E&S business. Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd. will retain all unearned premium reserves and all loss and loss expense reserve risk for any business written through closing.

The acquisition follows Selective’s earlier deal with Alterra Capital Holdings units to write commercial lines contract binding authority E&S policies, which was completed on Aug. 1. The Alterra commercial lines contract binding authority E&S business generated gross premiums written of $77 million in 2010.

This latest acquisition will give Selective a new platform to grow its contract binding authority business.

“This acquisition of the MUSIC business is a very good timing for us because it provides the company and the infrastructure we needed to begin selling business from the Alterra renewal rights transaction that we conducted earlier in the summer,” Selective Insurance spokesperson Gail Petersen told Insurance Journal.

“This is another product and service that we can provide to our agents and customers, which is part of our strategy to add more products and services to our portfolio and improve revenue and underwriting margin,” the Selective spokesperson said.

The latest acquisition includes an end-to-end information technology solution and financial reporting infrastructure that helps build the foundation Selective needs.

Hub International, William Palumbo

Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of William Palumbo Insurance Agency Inc., a Boston-area based retail brokerage firm. This acquisition allows Hub to expand its presence in Massachusetts, including the Cape Cod region. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Palumbo employees will now join the Hub International New England team. Previous Palumbo owners John LaRocca and Marisa Palumbo LaRocca will continue to manage the operations of this group and report to Charles Brophy, president of Hub International New England.

Palumbo sells property and casualty, personal lines, employee benefits and life insurance through six offices in Eastern and Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Wells Fargo Insurance, Procomp Benefit

Wells Fargo Insurance Services has acquired Procomp Benefit Resources Inc., an employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm based in Hazlet, N.J. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition will allow Wells Fargo Insurance Services to further expand its employee benefits business in New Jersey. Stephen Paternoster, president and principal of Procomp, and his team will move to the Wells Fargo Insurance Services office in New Jersey and continue to serve their clients from that location.

The Hilb Group, Venture Specialty

The Hilb Group, a Glen Allen, Va.-based holding company that focuses on acquiring mid-market agencies, has purchased Venture Specialty Insurance. The Richmond, Va.-based Venture Specialty is an all-lines agency with two niche products offering coverage for transportation and cosmetic surgeries.

Venture Specialty’s founder and president, Jason Angus, will stay on at his agency and continue to serve as president. He will also assume the new role of chief marketing officer at The Hilb Group under the terms of the transaction. The Hilb Group also opened a new office in Rochester and expanded an existing office in Bay Shore for its Endorsed Administrators business.